Matthew Weiner

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In his eight-hour Archive interview, Matthew Weiner talks about writing on TV shows including Becker and The Sopranos, and his creation of the series Mad Men. He details the writers' room on The Sopranos and working with David Chase, as well as pivotal episodes from the series including The Sopranos' finale. He talks in-depth about the concept behind his series, Mad Men, pitching it to AMC, and the attention paid to the style of the show, which is set in the 1960s. He discusses casting the show, specific storylines and the concepts behind them, and the then-future of the series. Weiner talks about the gap between seasons four and five of Mad Men, and describes his contract negotiations with AMC during that time. He recalls the various themes and storylines of seasons five and six, including "Joan Holloway" becoming a partner, the suicide of "Lane Pryce," and the disintegration of the marriage of "Don Draper" and "Megan Draper." He outlines various technical aspects of the show, including updating the wardrobe to match the styles of the times, and making the switch from shooting Mad Men on film to video starting with season five. He speaks of plotting out the end of Mad Men for seasons 7a and 7b, including "Don Draper's" downward spiral, the deaths of "Bert Cooper" and "Betty Francis," and his decision to use Coca-Cola's iconic "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing" commercial as the finale of the show. He recounts his feelings about the end of Mad Men, and talks about his then-current activities. Karen Herman conducted parts one and two of the interview on October 11, 2010 and November 12, 2010 in North Hollywood, CA. Adrienne Faillace conducted part three on June 8, 2015 in Los Angeles, CA.

"From when I got onto 'Becker,' I was starting to do something else at night. This was my mistress. I had this idea. I don't know where it came from, I don't know how it developed -- doing a show set in the 60s… But what I really wanted to do was a story about someone who was like me -- who was 35 years old and had everything and was miserable."

Chapter 1

On his early childhood; on his parents' influence on Mad Men; on the autobiographical nature of that show

14:41

On his childhood interests in trivia, history, and television; on wanting to be a performer

10:11

On being influenced by 70s TV shows and Woody Allen films; on the impact visiting Dachau concentration camp and Anne Frank's house had on him; on the shows he was not allowed to watch and how his parents limited the amount of TV he could watch

09:25

On the importance of music in his childhood and later in his scripts; on his early interest in writing and movies; on his earliest writings

09:41

On attending Wesleyan University; on his work ethic and his motivation; on knowing when to stop rewriting

14:31

Chapter 2

On being influenced by films; on applying to USC; on an internship with Bruce Glibert; on going to film school

17:51

On graduating from USC film school and getting married; on making the decision to be a writer

On graduating from USC film school and getting married; on making the decision to be a writer; on the influence television had on him; on writing his first film; on early TV work and spec writing

22:13

On being a writer on Becker; on working on the Mad Men pilot

11:08

On leaving Becker and joining Andy Richter Controls the Universe

06:02

Chapter 3

On being a writer on The Sopranos at the height of its success in season five; on the show's creator, David Chase; on the writers' room; on being an executive producer on the show

29:25

On writing specific episodes of The Sopranos: "Kennedy and Heidi," "Mayhem," and "The Blue Comet"

05:36

On learning the ending for The Sopranos; on his favorite moments from the show

Chapter 4

On the Mad Men character "Betty Draper" and her children; on how he identifies with the characters

03:58

Chapter 5

On developing Mad Men; on the casting the show

09:25

On how much of the characters' backstories he had in place before Mad Men got picked up

01:54

On the controversy over the first cut of Mad Men; on the style of the show; on the complexities of that first episode

06:48

On the early relationship between Mad Men and AMC; on the high ratings for the show and budgetary constrictions

06:30

On winning an Emmy for Mad Men; on the show's popularity; on how he defines success

05:46

On the Mad Men audience and criticism of the show

07:49

On the style and realism of Mad Men; on the costuming

19:19

Chapter 6

On the Mad Men episode, "Guy Walks into an Advertising Agency"; on the cardinal sin of television (a married woman having an affair)

04:51

On the emotional toll from writing emotional scenes; on the process he goes through with the writers and how much he reveals about the series; on how much he knows about the future direction of the series; on literary influences on the show

14:19

On the Mad Men storyline with "Don Draper" marrying his secretary; on how much the actors know of the show's storylines; on why he needs to reveal his story ideas to others

09:01

On David Chase's take on Mad Men

04:11

On the "business model" for Mad Men; on differences with the network over sponsors; on the use of "fake" ads in the show

09:51

On the merchandising of the show; on the extensive commentaries he's made about the making of the show; on what success has meant to him; on popular misconceptions about him

14:11

Chapter 7

On the then-future and finale of Mad Men and what he hopes to do after

10:28

On being inspired by other show-creators with multiple successes and his feelings about television

06:51

On advice to aspiring writers; on what he owes to AMC

03:45

Chapter 8

On the gap between seasons four and five of Mad Men and his contract negotiations with AMC; on Mad Men's season five premiere episode, "A Little Kiss," and the story arcs of that season; on using The Beatles' song "Tomorrow Never Knows" on the episode "Lady Lazarus"

12:21

On "Betty Draper's" (January Jones) cancer scare in season five of Mad Men; on plotting out stories and themes for Mad Men, the suicide of "Lane Pryce" (Jared Harris), and other elements of season five

16:17

On the Mad Men episode, "The Other Woman," in which "Joan Holloway" (Christina Hendricks) prostitutes herself to get an account for the firm; on "Megan Draper's" (Jessica Pare) career story arc in season five of Mad Men; on "Peggy Olson's" (Elisabeth Moss) story arc in season five of the show

08:00

On season six of Mad Men and using the news events of 1968 as a backdrop; on "Don Draper's" (Jon Hamm) affair in season six of Mad Men

15:09

On the final scene of season six of Mad Men, the cinematic nature of the show, and "Don's" downward spiral in seasons six and seven

09:54

Chapter 9

On switching from film to video starting with the fifth season of Mad Men; on running Mad Men storylines by Jon Hamm at the start of each season and collaborating with the staff writers; on the death of "Bert Cooper" (Robert Morse) at the end of season 7a and planning out season seven

14:19

On making viewers cry at Mad Men and confounding viewers' expectations; on collaborating with his writing staff on the end of Mad Men and the firing of "Don Draper" from Sterling Cooper; on the various cultural and historical references and influences for season seven of Mad Men, including the moon landing

17:34

On the gender equality themes of Mad Men season 7a; on "Don" and "Megan's" relationship and "Don" and "Peggy's" relationship in season 7b of Mad Men; on the time lapse between seasons 7a and 7b on Mad Men and updating the styles and fashions

08:20

On "Don's" situation at the start of Mad Men season 7b, "Don's" relationship with "Diana" the waitress, and fan reaction to that relationship; on wrapping up each character in the final episodes of Mad Men; on relating season six of Mad Men to "A Tale of Two Cities"

13:41

On dealing with writing and directing the final scenes of Mad Men; on directing Kiernan Shipka as "Sally Draper" in her final Mad Men scenes

05:57

Chapter 10

On "Don's" relationship with "Stephanie Horton" in the final episodes of Mad Men and the running list of story ideas for the show; on Mark Moses as "Herman 'Duck' Phillips" on Mad Men and stories they never got around to doing; on getting "Stan" and "Peggy" together at the end of the show

13:46

On wrapping up various stories on Mad Men; on using real life products and companies on Mad Men; on leading up to the Coca-Cola commercial finale; on how he believes Mad Men will be viewed in the future

16:21

On getting Mad Men memorabilia into museums; on what he misses about Mad Men and what the end was like for him